Luck of the Irish

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!  Over the years, so many people assume that I am Irish-the red hair and all!  However, I don't think my kids will ever be asked that.  It doesn't appear that either of my kids are going to sprout my red locks!  But luck was with me today in our impromptu photo shoot in the yard.  The weather was a nice bright cloudy day-a photogs dream and both my kids were looking at the camera-some of the time and in the same shot!  Go me!

I made their shamrock shirts and just added the other parts of their outfits from stuff we already had to green them up!

Whatcha doing over sissy?

 Oh you know just looking at the "bumble bee" (aka anything that crawls)

 She may not have my red color, but her hair is so "cute" in her words!

 Who me??? Yeah-I am a stud!

This is who Grayson likes to take his cues from!

Bathing Beauties!

I fee like it was just yesterday that I was registering for all the new baby stuff we would be using for Spencer.  I read lots of baby blogs/lists that say a baby tub is not a necessary purchase when you register for all that baby stuff.  But I love our tub.  My friends Delores and Freddy gave us our tub-I remember because as soon I as I told her we registered she went and bought it because that is what she wanted to give us.  And my how it has come in handy!

Here is Spencer in the tub-she kicked and splashed and played until almost a year old in this tub.  It saved on the amount of water you had to use and she could sit in the big part after I took the baby stopper out. 

 

 Here is big sis "helping" give brother a bath in the same tub.  I say helping because really she just wants a reason to get her shirt wet and play in the water-as evidenced by her soaked shirt in the picture.  She does try to wash his hair.

 I have a feeling that this tub won't last little man until he is one but he loves it for now!  I love seeing my babies wet, smiling faces!

Spencer's Big girl room

We decided that Spencer would get a big girl room when we moved to the new house.  When I originally picked out her nursery bedding, I went gender neutral so it could be reused no matter what baby came next.  Since we were moving within a month of having Grayson, we decided this would be a good transition time for Spencer.  I ordered her bedding a month before we moved and started planning.  I originally picked an Amy Butler bedding but found out it had been retired already and then I found this Pottery Barn Kids bedding.  I liked that it was girly, but I could still do blue walls.  I really wanted the black out curtains but didn't want to pay the price PBK was wanting.  Then lights went off-EBAY!  I found the curtains in the exact length and color for half the price.  I reused some pennants from her 1st birthday I had sown because they matched the theme.  I have a few more projects in the works for her room-a bookcase, doll cradle, wall art but this is what it looks like now:

Projects

Since moving into this house almost 7 months ago, I have had lots of projects going on.  They include but are not limited to decorating, purging, donating, unpacking, organizing, reusing, repurposing, repainting, sewing, etc.  I have purchased a used SilhouetteSD machine and I have just started using it to be creative. Over the last 12 months this is what I have made it and my sewing machine:

 This owl lovey and onesie to match were made for my friend Mandy's little girl Ella in Texas.  That is the bag I made to go with it!  And no I had no pattern for the lovey-I just winged it ;)

 I made these shirts for Spencer and Grayson to wear to the pumpkin patch this year.  I had the brown shirt and onesie (Hobby Lobby has great onesies for occasions like this!)  Below is how they looked on the kids.

 Last year when we went to Disney, I whipped these two outfits up for Spencer 2 weeks before we left.  I did not make the bows.

 This is Grayson's Halloween costume (ice cream sandwich) and my ice cream scooper costume that I made (the apron and bowtie)

 I repurposed Spencer's scones from her nursery into these ribbon ball holders.

 I found this wooden plaque at a yard sale for $5.  It was ugly but I sanded, painted and hand painted her monogram for her room.

These are Spencer's Valentine's for her class and her teachers:

 Grayson's and Spencer's Valentines Day shirts:

 Grayson and Spencer's lego birthday party shirts:

 I made this vested onesie for Grayson.  He wore it in his pictures and at a family wedding:

 I made this onesie with suspenders and bow tie for a Christmas photo shoot:

St. Patricks Day and Easter Egg Hunt shirts coming next!

MPFL my knee

No that is not some new abbreviation for the next obscenity cliche.  I am writing this for others researching on the web about knee surgery.

When I was in 7th grade I dislocated my patella (knee cap) in gym class.  It was very dramatic-cleared the whole gym of three classes to allow the ambulance to come and get me on a stretcher.  Treatment that time-six weeks in a immobilizing brace and knee strengthening excercises.  Not to mention I go to play ping pong instead of tennis during the brace time at PE class.

When I was in 9th grade, I dislocated the same patella again.  Unlike the first time, my patella moved back in place on its own.  Treatment-six weeks in a immobilizing brace, Physical therapy/knee strengthening exercises.

Fast forward about 15 years.  I now have 2 kids, still trying to keep up with the daily chores of caring for them and the house and....I dislocate my patella again-and although I straightened my leg like I did during the second injury, it did not slide back into place this time.  I had to ride in an ambulance for a second time in my life to the hospital.  By the time they moved me onto 2 beds and made x-rays, the patella did move back into position (despite what the ER physician said)!  Treatment this time: surgery then PT.

At first I was a little in disbelief-really???? surgery???  But after talking with some family friends who were physical therapist and occupational therapist and surgeons, I felt that this actually would make that ligament I have torn three times stronger.  So one month after the third dislocation, I had surgery to graft a ligament onto my MPFL. 

More to come later

Christmas

We continued our many Christmas traditions this year and added a few new ones.  This year Spencer participated in her preschool's Christmas program.  The two year old class she is in performed in two songs.  The first one was jingle bells and she rang her little bell so well.  The second song was silent night and she was supposed to do sign language but she was sucking her thumb and then she saw me taping her and she started screaming for me!  But she was so cute!

We went to see Santa at Bass Pro again.  This time we wore our Christmas clothes.  But we had a happy baby picture and a screaming two-year-old picture.  Maybe next year we will have happy combined picture! She also had a Santa appearance at her preschool and it went about the same way!

We went to my grandmother's for Christmas.  On the road there we got word that my grandmother fell and broke her hip.  So my Aunt's party was canceled and we hope that next year we will see my grandmother at her house instead of in the hospital.  Despite a change of place, we still had a great time celebrating with her.  We partied at my other grandmother's and my mom's sister's house.  Lots of fun was shared.  I think someone in my family was sick for every party but we managed to see everyone!

 I love my girl's curls!! 

Her new favorite doll!

 This is pretty much how things go around our house.  Spencer plays with Grayson's toys when they are out and he looks on curious.  We think he is thinking-wow that looks like fun, wonder if I will ever get to play with it?  Here is a good matching Christmas eve pajama picture!

 My aunt's homemade Christmas tree.  When we got there the ornaments were spaced nicely apart.  When we left a blond headed elf had clumped the bottom rows together!

 Grayson's loot wrapped in green.  Spencer's loot wrapped in red.

 Spencer and Uncle Will!

 Visiting Great-Grandma in the hospital.

 The great-grandkids with their great-grandparents!

Spencer enjoyed opening lots of gifts this year-she helped open Grayson's gifts.  It went something like this: Spencer, whose gift is that?  Baby.  Then she would open it and look at it and if she liked it or thought she could play with it (that would be all the gifts but clothes) she would say: Mine!   The kids each had a Christmas tree in their rooms too!

We had a great time at Jason's parents house to but our visit was cut short due to illness.

Next year we hope more people will be well, not in the hospital, and that we continue spending time enjoying each other!